


Putting the Cat in Catastophe

by Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, M/M, Mentions of Vivisections, Slow Burn, Temporary Amnesia, mentions of experimentation, shapeshifter AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2018-05-30 20:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6438319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter/pseuds/Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny Fenton has just escaped from a secret government testing facility and runs straight into Andrew Riter - a busybody librarian who seems to be obsessed with helping a stray black cat. Danny's the stray black cat. The Government gets interested when they find out a seemingly ordinary human can shapeshift into different animals. Danny just wants to return to his family and try to find his lost memories, but he's having a hard time doing so when he's finding less and less reasons for leaving Andrew's side. He couldn't tell anyone his secret - not again - but... But why did he want to trust this man so badly? (Iambic Prose) (Shapeshifter Danny AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bonjour, mes chers! Aha, so... Where to begin with this one? People have been asking me to continue TCC for quite a while now and, being myself, I decided to rewrite the story. If you want to mentally slap me then that's perfectly acceptable and I encourage you to do so if it helps. Now, a few quick things to get out of the way!

[If you're a Patron of mine then you can find a link to all the old chapters - and even notes of what I wanted to do! - on my patreon at  **mjanderson**! You can pledge as little as a dollar a month and get access to a](https://www.patreon.com/mjanderson) bunch of cool things.

Second, this is based off a old prompt I found forever ago. The original story was meant to be 10k words tops. You see now who that's turned out. The original prompt:

_Character A is a shapeshifter and they can shift into animals such as a dog, cat, snake etc., but A's shifting abilities are a secret since they were abused in their last home. That's when B finds them on the streets as their animal form, sick and hurt and far too weak to be in human form. B takes A in, thinking they're a normal pet, and takes care of them for months on end until they're perfectly healthy, but once A is healthy they still don't tell B in fear they will leave._

Lastly,

 **Warning** : This story will have references to laboratory testing, mentions of vivisections, blood, wounds, character trauma, and things of a similar sort. Most mentions of such things will be vague, but there will be heavy mentions of it and warnings at the beginning of chapters when it gets explicit.

[Remember to check my tumblr at ibelieveinahappilyeverafter for updates and new things, as well!](http://ibelieveinahappilyeverafter.tumblr.com/tagged/tcc%20au)

* * *

**Chapter One**

**::**

It could be said that how a person's day went was largely determined by their mood and their personal worldview. With such an outlook, it would be correct in saying that if you looked upon the day with a cheery smile and attitude, then you would have a happy day no matter what bad things befell you.

Andrew Riter would like nothing more than to punch the face of whoever had said that. Preferably with a knife, but a regular punch and kick to the balls would work just as well, he was certain.

See, Andrew would readily admit that he wasn't that optimistic of a person - in fact, he was usually downright sour to people and for good reason. He dealt with enough stupidity at work and school, he didn't need it in his daily life. There was a reason he avoided social contact as best he could. He still did his best to enjoy his days and take them one at a time, of course, but that was very difficult when his day had become a giant shitshow.

It started, as always, when he woke up to nothing but wonderful peace and quiet. That was very bad since it meant his alarm hadn't gone off. A look to his piece of shit alarm clock had showed he only had an hour to get ready for work. It wasn't the best, but at least he hadn't slept  _through_ the start of his shift. Which, that was fine. It could have been a still okay day since it meant he got more sleep, but, no.

He quickly found out his depression and anxiety medication were completely empty. Completely as in there was a post-it note reminding him to refill the damn things, but he hadn't, so screw his past self. The day could have been saved by a good cup of morning coffee and a muffin or two, but his cabinets were dismally empty and the only thing in his refrigerator that wasn't expired were some eggs and milk. He hated dairy. As for the new bag of coffee he got… He grabbed the wrong one last time he was at the store.

So with a horribly cold shower because the water in his apartment sucked, Andrew had gone out the door and had been five seconds away from a full blown panic attack because of the  _fucking_ espresso coffee he bought that existed for the sole reason of people hating themselves. It may not have been as bad if he hadn't been stopped on the stairwell  _three_ times by his neighbors.

Vidya, his sadistic landlord who he was absolutely certain was a witch of some sort due to the fact she always smelled of plants and wore a lot of black and green and had  _grey hair when she was thirty_ , had wanted to discuss that month's rent and was not assured by Andrew telling her - quite often - that his paycheck would be coming in just a few days and could she please stop threatening eviction when she never went through with it? Either commit or don't, but stop acting like his life wasn't in her hands,  _honestly_.

He had then been stopped on the second floor by Sam who had spent almost half an hour screaming at him over the ethics of animal testing. Sam was a childhood friend who had 'coincidentally' wound up in the same apartment as him and tended to dress on the more vampire side of goth. The black hair fooled no one when the roots were so quick to fade back to blonde. Ugh. She also had this  _thing_ about animal testing. Andrew was of the opinion that he didn't care at all and Sam seemed to think him a monster for not caring about - what even had she been upset about this time? Eyeliner on bunnies? Andrew couldn't care less. Actually, he probably  _could_ care less! This was him! Not caring!

Oh and then  _Tucker_. Tucker, another 'coincidental' childhood friend and certifiable genius when it came to mechanics and computers and looked like a nerd straight from the 80s or early 90s, had stopped him five feet from the door and spent  _thirty minutes_ trying to talk to him about theoretical physics. Andrew was just trying to get his Associate in Arts and then transfer to a nice four-year to study Creative Writing - maybe Journalism if he got curious and or desperate enough. He was not killing himself with a double major in Engineering and Physics or whatever the hell it was Tucker did. Of course, that did nothing to stop the 'genius' from talking his ear off. By the time he got outside to his bus stop the bus had been gone for twenty minutes and his shift started in ten. His job was fifteen minutes away by  _car_.

Needless to say, that left Andrew very cranky and running through alleyways and down not so safe streets as he tried to take shortcuts in whatever way he could in order to get to the library he worked at on time. Three minutes of trying to find the right street and proving he had just circled a block and wasted time almost sent him to tears before he heard his phone buzzing with a familiar ringtone.

Taking a breath, and trying not to hysterically laugh at the 'Werewolves of London' song he now had playing and couldn't figure out how to change, Andrew clicked accept call and tried to stay calm. Focused. Peaceful. "Bonjour, grand frère."

" _What did you do and what do I need to fix_?" Rude. Randy had called  _him_ , thank you very much. " _Andy, you only call me that when you want something or you're about to have a nervous breakdown. Are you about to have a nervous breakdown- Shit, you took your meds this morning, didn't you_?" Dammit.

"I'm not screwed up enough to forget my meds, thanks." How did his brother  _always_ manage to call right when he was feeling at his worst or when he ran out of his pills? He was pretty sure the man had him bugged. It wouldn't surprise him. He took overprotective to whole new levels. "Why did you call me?"

" _Lunch_!" Oh. It was one of their lunch days, wasn't it? " _Our lunch breaks should align today, so I figured we could meet up at our usual place around then_?" It was ridiculous that Andrew could hear the 'are you okay' hidden in those words.

"Lunch sounds fine." Randy was annoying, but he had this ridiculous way of making Andrew find a reason to not just curl into a ball and never wake up. He also made Andrew feel better about his own wreck of a life considering the messes he got himself into. "You're paying, Mr. $82,000 a year."

" _Hey, I'm not that good of a vet yet and I'm still paying off student loan debts_!" Feeling a small smile on his face, Andrew sighed softly. Randy somehow always made it okay again. He would die before telling that to his face, of course, but still. " _I'll meet you in a few hours. Try not to get lost in your books, Andy_."

"Try not to flirt with the owners of your patients, Randy." Honestly, his decision to become a veterinarian had come out of left field, but Andrew couldn't deny he did a good job. "Especially that one you're so fond of. Now, what was his name… It started with an N?"

" _Bye, love you, gotta go_!" The call disconnected and Andrew gave in to the urge to laugh. Seeing the time, his laugh quickly fell and, right, he should at least call in to let the library know he was going to be a  _little_ bit late. Of course -  _of course_ \- he got four rings in before his phone died. Because  _apparently_ his phone hadn't charged from the night before even though Andrew had  _unplugged_ it this morning.

And as if the gods had somehow heard of his day and decided he needed to suffer even more, the clouds above him rumbled with the menacing beats of thunder and lightning cracked against the sky like a jagged edge of a wound. It took only a second for Andrew to realize he was fucked and two for the rain to begin falling.

Within fifteen minutes he was late, soaked, and felt as if he had offended some minor deity over something or other - or maybe it was Vidya making him suffer for being behind on his rent. Mm. Maybe he had broken a mirror or spilled some salt, actually. That sounded like his kind of luck. Heh. Maybe it was divine punishment. He obviously hadn't suffered enough for what he had done, right?

By the time he got to the library he was pretty sure his clothes were ruined and he would never be dry again. At least he could get inside and clean up in the bathroom before sitting himself right over a heating vent and sorting books. It was a nice, quiet library and it was raining like it wouldn't stop for forty days. He was sure the owner wouldn't mind. In fact, he could even… He… He could stare at the locked doors and dark windows.

Gaze caught on the white notice posted to the main door, Andrew could only stare, utterly speechless. It was Memorial Day. They were closed on Memorial Day. Andrew had just walked for what was probably close to thirty minutes  _in the rain_  and… And… At least he wasn't late. That was great. That was fucking  _fantastic_.

Shoving a hand in his bag to see if he had some magical solution that would fix all of his problems, Andrew stared at the purple umbrella that came out and began mocking him at once. He stared for what felt like an eternity before he clicked the button and ducked into the alleyway. Sitting down on a set of side steps that led to an unstable backdoor, Andrew propped the umbrella up over him and stared at the red brick wall across from him.

It wasn't even noon, yet, and his day was completely ruined and shot all to hell. The worst part was that this wasn't even the first time this had happened - maybe the exact circumstances were, but getting screwed over by life? No, no, Andrew was very familiar with getting screwed over.

Glasses fogged up, breath still short from his running, and soaked through to the bone, Andrew could only bury his face into his hands and make a noise that he hoped was closer to a groan than a sob. It was always like this. Life built up to where he couldn't handle the strain, everything came crashing down around him, and he shattered. Eventually he would put himself back together, but it kept feeling like it was harder and harder to be able to do that.

A clash of thunder and lightning and gust of wind had him trying to bite down another sob/groan. Of all the things he expected to happen next in his life, it wasn't to hear an answering hiss to his own pathetic noise.

Head jerking up, Andrew stared down at the pathetic scrap of fur that sat in front of him, just as soaked and just as pissed as he felt himself - although the scrap of fur looked to be as broken as Andrew probably looked. Staring for a moment, Andrew huffed and looked at the black cat with a wry smile, "Bonjour, chat noir. Are you the cause of my bad luck today, then?"

At least animals didn't judge you for speaking French first instead of English, he mused. Sighing, Andrew fixed his glasses, trying to see. He had given up wiping them off after the first few minutes of the rain storm. "Would you like to add to today's woes, then? I'm sure there's nothing else you can do to me, at this point, but you're welcome to try."

There was a rumbling little growl that sounded utterly pathetic, Andrew huffing out a laugh as he stared at the mangy thing. No doubt the cat was covered with fleas, ticks, and other unsavory bugs. The ribs poking out showed he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks - maybe months. Poor thing probably wouldn't make it through the night.

Tilting his umbrella forward, Andrew propped his cheek up on his hand - elbow balanced on his knee - as the fabric kept anymore rainwater from getting on the cat. "There you go. Might as well. Not like I can get much more wet myself." The rain was freezing as hell, of course, so Andrew was being a complete idiot by doing this for a cat that looked ready to claw his eyes out. Ugh. Why did he have to pity small, tiny things?

The cat grumbled and stared at Andrew hard before leaning forward and giving as quick a headbutt to Andrew's leg as he could, Andrew amused to see that the cat looked disgruntled at even that much. "You've had a very hard life, haven't you?" The meow sounded like utter,  _sarcastic_  agreement. Maybe Andrew was projecting. "I know what that's like, petit chaton. Would you like to hear about my cursed day?"

So, of course, Andrew spent the next however long telling a  _cat_ about how terrible his day had been. The cat seemed to be an attentive audience, at least, nodding along and making little rumbling noises close to a purr as he said something particularly witty. Andrew wasn't sure if that was meant to be amusement or a reprimand- A cat. He was projecting emotions onto a cat. He  _had_ fallen far, hadn't he?

"I imagine your story is much more interesting, though." Andrew stared down at the mangy little stray, the cat staring back up at him before jumping up into his lap. Andrew scrambled to keep the thing from falling and not dropping the umbrella, calming his racing pulse down. "A warning would have been nice, you know."

The cat meowed with what sounded like derision, Andrew huffing and ready to argue before going utterly still and silent as bright blue eyes caught onto him own. "I didn't know black cats had such bright eyes." The cat only settled down tiredly, looking utterly exhausted, but those eyes… No. No, it had been years and it was time to get over it. Happy endings like those in his books didn't exist in this world. The sooner he realized that days like this one were the norm, the better off he would be. After all, you couldn't get disappointed when you expected the worst, right?

But, still. Andrew couldn't stop himself from threading his fingers through the small creature's fur, the threat of tears starting to fade. The fur was rather soft even with the rainwater that drenched them. Actually the storm was starting to lessen into a drizzle.

Leaning back against the unstable backdoor, Andrew sighed and closed his eyes, biting his lip as his fingers tightened on the fur. Black fur with blue eyes. That… "You know, I like to think that black cats are actually lucky." It wasn't possible - it  _wasn't_  - but… It wouldn't hurt him anymore to keep hoping, right?

Just one last time.


	2. Chapter 2

Bonjour, mes chers! Here is, finally, the second chapter of TCC! I'll be trying to get the advanced chapters up on my Patr(e)on tonight, so keep an eye out and remember pledging a little as a dollar can unlock great bonus content!

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 **Warnings**  for: Laboratory testing, mentions of vivisections and dissections (nothing physical shown on screen), and references to bleeding

* * *

He had once heard that an optimistic outlook could make even the worst day into a great one. He heard that as long as you faced the day with a smile and didn't let it break you, no matter what was happening, it would get better. The smile would become real and the day would be good no matter what bad things happened.

Danny Fenton would really like to scratch the eyes out of whoever the  _fuck_ had said that. He would settle for biting, of course, but scratching the eyes out seemed like a reasonable reaction to a pile of garbage like  _that_.

Look, the point was that Danny was having a very difficult night- Day? Morning? He wasn't sure what time it was exactly, but the last twenty-four hours had been  _hell_. It was to the point that he was curled up in a stranger's lap and that was the  _normal_ part of the day. Danny was tired, exhausted, hurt, and he was pretty sure he should be biting and scratching the guy who was bawling his eyes out in an alleyway, but judging by his story his day was going about as well as Danny's.

So, here he was. Sitting on the lap of a guy who was probably trying to pretend that was rainwater on his cheeks and not tears. Danny kind of felt bad for the guy. Or, he would, if he wasn't- Ugh. It had been a  _day_. Black cats were nowhere  _near_ lucky and Danny had the proof to back it all up!

"You've had a very tough life, haven't you?" The man's voice was quiet - almost as if he was afraid of being heard. Danny could sympathize. Sighing and collapsing further into the man's touch, Danny frowned as he felt a purr rumble out of him.

' _You have no idea_.' His life had been one giant shitstorm of one bad thing after another, but that morning - last night? - had been the worst one yet. It had started out hopeful, too.

::

"It's already been another year?" Danny looked in surprise at the chocolate bar that was held in front of him, taking it quickly when it was almost pulled away. "Hey, hey, I'm not complaining!"

"All you do is complain to me." Yeah, to  _Vlad_ , and that was because Vlad was the only scientist that wasn't completely insane and put in requests to vivisection him. "Five years since you arrived."

"Five years of torture," Danny snorted, tearing the packaging open with his teeth and taking a large bite at once, beaming at the taste. It had been an entire  _year_ since he last had something chocolate. "Five years of nothing but this place."

"Hey." Vlad pushed the chocolate bar down before he could take another bite, Danny frowning as he looked into the stare that wasn't quite disappointment, but also wasn't quite reproachful. "You're doing better."

"Yeah, I can remember my childhood bed and my favorite cartoon. Big progress." Taking another big bite, Danny glared at Vlad in defiance. Vlad just rolled his eyes as he began taking Danny's vitals. "Yeah, wow, so much has changed from my last torture session."

"Hush. You know they don't like when you use that word." Yeah, cause Danny was just a little too  _human_  for them. At least, he usually was. "You seem to be doing well with the new regime they put you on."

"Doesn't feel like it. I'm still getting the cold and heat flashes every few hours." All Vlad did was offer him a weak smile - that was all he  _could_ do right now. "'S fine, I'll get used to it like all the other stuff."

"Ye… Yes." Oh, no, Danny did  _not_ like the way Vlad said that. He was also being given a second chocolate bar which meant  _bad news_. Vlad, the dick, waited until his mouth was full of chocolate to speak again. "You're leaving tonight."

It took a good ten seconds for Danny to stop himself from choking and swallow the bite in his mouth, gasping for breath and, " _What_?!" There was no way- "You're joking. That's cruel- Even for you that's cruel."

"I'm not joking, Daniel." He wasn't joking. He wasn't… Five years. Danny had been here five years and he- He couldn't remember the before, so it was fine, right? This was all he knew so it was  _fine_. Not good, but he was surviving. Yeah, sure, okay, he wanted to stop all the pain and shit, but… "You're seventeen, you've been here five years, and they've learned all they can from you while you're alive."

"What… What do you mean while I'm  _alive_?" He'd been here since he was twelve and five years wasn't enough to learn  _everything_ about him, right? "Vlad, what do you mean-"

"They've studied your body as much as they can while keeping it working, Daniel. What do you think happens when they've performed all the vivisections they need?" Vlad's voice was hard and rough, the man clutching at his clipboard and looking ready to break it in half. "What's the difference between a vivisection and an autopsy?"

"The first one is for subjects that are alive and the second is for- Oh." They were going to kill him. They were going to see just how everything worked when they had all the time in the world to pick him apart and study him. "When?"

"Tonight." Silent, Danny stared down at his chocolate, one wrapper empty and the other still having near a full chocolate bar.

"Kind of a dick move considering it's my birthday and all." They were going to kill him. They were going to kill him and there was nothing- Leaving. "You're serious."

"As much as you like to cast disparities upon my character, I don't want to see a child die in front of me." Resisting the urge to argue about the child bit, Danny quietly took another bite of chocolate. "Will it make you feel better if I told you I've been working on this plan for four years, now?"

"Four years? But that's…" That was when Vlad was assigned as his caretaker within the labs. He was the one in charge of making sure he didn't die in his sleep, basically. Four years would have meant that Vlad had been working on this plan since the beginning - since they had first  _met_. "You didn't even know me back then. I was nothing but a subject."

"Please." Vlad gave him the look he usually did when Danny was being an idiot. "You were thirteen years old and you cried quietly when they first brought you to me. Children don't cry quietly unless they've given up."

"To be fair, thirteen isn't a child at that point," Danny grumbled, finishing off his chocolate bar and dropping the wrappers onto the table beside him. "This plan of yours. Would it even work? We've been through plans before." Danny wasn't the only one to dream of escape, but he was the only one who wasn't an idiot and ran off as soon as a door was open.

"Four years is a lot of time to work out the kinks in a plan." Mm. That wasn't a very good answer, but then, Vlad wasn't much of a fan of yes or no answers. "Daniel… This is your last chance. I won't let it fail."

"How much danger is it going to put you in?" There was the soft sound of pencil scratching against paper on a clipboard, Danny steadily watching Vlad as he refused to answer the question. Didn't that just tell him everything he needed to know, too. "There's no way I'm doing this if it's going to hurt you-"

" _I_ , at least, won't be cut open on a table without a heartbeat in a few hours." The words weren't screamed, but they might as well have been with how cold they were. "We're doing this and you can either cooperate or I can resort to plan B where you don't have to be conscious."

"That's cruel." He shouldn't. Danny  _shouldn't_ be feeling like this was possible. It was just talk. Words that were nothing but noise. He shouldn't be getting excited over the chance that he could  _actually_ be free. "This is cruel, Vlad, even by your standards."

"Whatever made you think I was a nice man?" Vlad patted at his cheek, hand resting there for a moment before he sighed and dropped it to Danny's shoulder. "Just hope, Daniel. For a few more hours, just have trust in me and  _hope_."

"I was supposed to spend the rest of my life in here." That was how it was supposed to go. He'd be the government's lab rat, he'd get used to never having his memories back, and he'd just live out the rest of his life in a government testing facility. "That was how it was supposed to be."

"Yes, well, I've rather found that planning ahead never quite works like one would expect." Vlad sighed, meeting Danny's gaze again. "I'm going to tell you as much about your past as I know and when you get out you're going to find them. They'll welcome you back without hesitation."

"How can you be sure? How can you- I've been gone for five years. Whatever they felt for me is probably- They probably thought I was dead and had a  _funeral_ , Vlad. Who wants a dead kid back in their lives?"

"Daniel, they  _will_ accept you - your parents, especially. Once you have children… Everything changes. You'll return to them, to Jack and Maddie Fenton, and you'll have a home again. A real one."

"Vlad- Vlad, I only remember a few things. My childhood bed, my favorite cartoon, and the color purple. That's not- That's nowhere near enough to actually  _survive_ -"

"You, little badger, give yourself too little credit." Trying not to laugh at the nickname, Danny shook his head. "And yes, I am never going to let you forget that."

"I panicked and you were wearing a white lab coat and I heard someone talking about honey badgers that day. I can't be blamed for what happened." Humor. Humor helped cover up everything else. That was all he needed, right? "Vlad… If it wasn't for you then my first memory would have been waking up in those labs. They've taken everything from me."

"And you can get it back. They didn't take your memories, Daniel, you hid them away. I've told you this." Yeah, yeah, psychology and repression, and everything, but… He had to have hid them away for a reason. Maybe it was because they hurt too much. "You're going to be okay."

"Right. Okay." He could believe in one more lie, right? Besides, if it was the last lie he'd ever believe in, then, well. It wasn't a bad one. "What's this plan of yours, then?"

::

"This is the last test for this subject, then?" As usual, the scientists preferred to think he was nothing  _but_ the animals he shifted into. Danny hoped he could bite at least one of them before he left.

"Yes, after this we move him to F-121." The dissection labs. Fuck, Vlad hadn't been kidding at all, then, had he? "Make sure he's strapped in tightly. They're expecting him in half an hour."

"All secure." The bands around his wrists and ankles were checked, Danny staying still and silent and he just had to have patience. He just had to be patient and wait for the right moment. That didn't mean he liked the fact that he was on his stomach his back was facing them. "Do you think they'll let us study his brain one last time before they put him under?"

Tuning the conversation out, Danny focused on pushing away the pain that came from their scalpels slicing into him, his paper gown pushed away as the strings were cut. As soon as he got out of here he was going to find the largest, softest clothes he could and never take them off.

Just as it seemed like the pain was going to overwhelm him, the blaring ringing of alarm bells had all three of them startling, Danny looking up with wide eyes as the room began to be washed out with red colors.

"The contamination warning? Shit, is it airborne?" The scalpels left his skin and Danny heard the door of the room unlock itself, a pre-recorded voice sounding over the speakers.

" _Attention, this is not a drill. An airborne contaminant has been released into the compound. Please escort yourselves to the designated safe spots. Attention, this is not a drill. An airborne contaminant_ -" Signal. That was a hell of a signal.

Closing his eyes, Danny breathed out slowly before sucking another breath in and centering his thoughts. If one thing could be said about this hellhole, at least it had taught him just what he could do and what he was capable of.

"Should we-  _Fuck_. The subject-" Too late. Throwing himself off the table, Danny hit the floor in a scramble of four paws, rat tail flicking sharply before he gave himself over to his instincts and  _ran_. He knew a scrap of black fur and blue eyes could be easily lost in the chaos that was now happening - at least, to those who weren't looking.

Warm hands scooped him up, Danny opening his mouth wide and flashing sharp teeth and- "If you bite me, Daniel, then I will make sure to throw you into the  _trash compactor_." Danny nipped Vlad's finger in defiance, laughing to himself as he was dropped into the man's pocket.

' _No sense of humor at all_.' Danny curled up in the pocket, slowly peeking out as Vlad ran through the halls, alarms still flashing and blaring and making the whole building a confusing den of sound and movement. ' _C'mon, Vladdie, running out of time_.'

"You remember the plan?" No, he obviously forgot between here and- Of course he remembered the plan! Danny hadn't let Vlad leave until he could recite it by heart! "Get ready to shift, I'm about to drop you off at the right vent."

It was only a few moments of Danny wondering what vent it would be at before Vlad was stopping and picking him up gently, hesitating as he stroked a thumb down Danny's back. "Be safe, little badger."

' _I won't forget this, Vlad_.' Danny knew Vlad couldn't hear his thoughts, but it was nice to pretend. ' _I promise_.' As soon as Danny's paws touched the ground he was shifting into a racoon and flexing his 'hands' before fighting to get the screws off of the air vent. It didn't take long before he managed to get them off. Ignoring his cuts on his hands - paws? - and the blood he could feel streaking down his back, Danny closed his eyes and shifted his body once more, panting to get his breath back as he balanced on four paws.

Back-to-back shifting always took it out of him considering how much his body was changing and how quickly it was, but he didn't have a choice much as the moment. "-he's escaping!" Fuck.

"Run and don't look back." Looking up at Vlad with sharp cat eyes, Danny yowled as he was near kicked into the vent, Vlad yelling at him. "Daniel,  _run_!"

Knowing better than to question and not stupid enough to stick around and help, Danny pushed his tears back and ran down the vent, paws quick and sure and stride not breaking once as he bounded across the flexing metal ducts. He didn't stop until something was breaking and clattering and he hit cold pavement, and even then he only stopped long enough to coil his strength together before running again.

He didn't look back and he didn't stop. Cats were fast and they were fleet footed. They weren't meant to run for long periods of time, though, so as soon as Danny crashed into the woods he shifted into a small breed of hunting hound and kept running steadily ahead. It had to be near a mile before he felt as if his heart would beat right out of his chest and yet he still didn't stop. He couldn't. He  _couldn't_.

If he stopped, for even a moment, then there was a chance he would be captured. There was a chance he would be captured, and killed, and he would find out that Vlad- As long as he kept running then he could pretend. He could pretend that he really could get away and get his memories back. He could pretend there was family out there waiting for him. He could pretend that Vlad was safe and had been fired and he was able to  _leave_.

He wasn't sure how long it was or how long he had been running until the crunch of leaves and uneven dirt gave way for smooth, hard pavement once more, Danny gulping down air as he slowed only long enough to change back into the sleek form of a cat - and even then he didn't stay completely still. He couldn't. He was finally free. He was finally able to run and god-  _God_. It was raining. It was  _raining_. Danny hadn't felt rain since… He didn't know when, but it was more than five years ago, that was for sure.

Danny ran as he let the rain wash away his blood and soak him to the bone, the shivering so preferable to the burning, all consuming pain he had been feeling. He ran and he ran and he ran until he stumbled into an alleyway and saw the first human he had seen outside the labs. The man was probably a few years older than him, had scruffy black hair and green eyes, and looked to be having as bad a day as Danny.

He stopped only to get his breath back and let himself rest. That was it. Or at least, that was supposed to be it. Instead he had ended up curled up in the man's lap and not even hissing or minding the fingers that were running through his fur. Danny knew how bad days could make people unpredictable, but this man just looked like he wanted to go home, curl up into a ball, and cry.

Yeah, okay, so the guy was off his rocker insane thinking black cats were lucky and talking to him like he could understand everything he was saying, but Danny could handle being used as a cuddle toy for a few more minutes if it meant he didn't have to deal with a crying person.

Slumping against the fingers, Danny heaved a breath as it finally felt like his heart wasn't about to explode. ' _Okay. Okay, your last name is Fenton. You're seventeen and you disappeared when you were twelve. Your birthday is April 3rd. Your full name is Daniel James Fenton and you're looking for your family, Jack, Madeline, and Jasmine Fenton. Your bedspread was blue and you liked glow in the dark stars and your favorite cartoon show had something to do with spaceships and aliens._   _You love the color purple. You and your family lived in Amity Park_.'

Okay… Okay. He needed to find a way to get to this Amity Park. He wasn't sure which way he had run, but judging by the fact it had to be near the afternoon he had been running for hours, at least. He had never travelled outside the lab and it had been small, so he had probably been in a smaller lab simply so they didn't risk losing him in transport. That meant even if he wasn't in Amity Park, he had to be close. That meant they were close, too, though.

Right. Staying as a cat would be best right now. Cats were swift, agile, and small enough to not be seen. No doubt they would be searching the skies for a few weeks, so he had to be careful. They wouldn't expect him to stay as an animal for so long. The question was, how long would it take to convince them that he was dead or long gone? They had to assume he'd go back home, so was his family in danger? What if-

"Come on, petit chaton. Let's get out of this rain." Yowling as the human stood and jostled him, Danny was ready to bite and claw before the man was shifting the umbrella so Danny would stay dry and adjusting him carefully. "You are rather hurt, aren't you… Maybe Randy can help you."

Danny should jump. He should jump down, run away, and leave because otherwise he was about to be taken in as a  _pet_ … They wouldn't expect him to be a pet. ' _You might have just saved my life, you know_.' If he could hide out as a pet for a few weeks, it would at least give him time to decide on what to do.

"Well, since I've already lost my sanity by talking to a cat, let's assume you're smart enough to realize what I'm doing. My name is Andrew Riter and I'll be taking you somewhere where you can get food and medical treatment."

' _Oh my god, you're a nerd. Do you go around to other animals and expect them to understand you? This isn't a Disney movie!_ ' If nothing else, at least Danny knew he wasn't about to be cut open anymore. The crazy purple coat the guy was wearing might even be a good sign - purple had always been his lucky color. That was enough, for right now.

It had to be.


	3. Chapter 3

Bonjour, mes chers! Sorry for the long delay, but things only just settled down after I got back from camping with my family! I hope you enjoy the third chapter. I'll be posting the advanced chapters up on my Patr(e)on here shortly, so keep an eye out and remember pledging a little as a dollar can unlock great bonus content!

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"I suppose if I miss lunch with Randy he'll be even more worried. He'll probably even try to move back in with me, again." Remembering the hell that came from sharing an apartment with his overbearing and well-concerning brother  _last time_ , Andrew groaned and pushed himself to his feet before looking down to the bedraggled scrap of fur still curled up in his arms. "You'll remind me to stop by and get my meds filled, won't you?"

There was a sound between a meow and a purr, Andrew choking on a laugh as he threaded his fingers through the wet black fur. "I've fallen rather far already, so I might as well ask. Would you like to come to lunch with me? You'll have to meet my brother, but he usually pays for lunch and, if nothing else, it's free food that  _isn't_ alive and moving."

The cat in his arms seemed to  _study_ him for a long few moments before collapsing, rather dramatically, and near falling out of his arms. As soon as Andrew was sure he wasn't about to actually fall and hit the ground, he was choking on a laugh. "You're a dramatic little thing, aren't you?" He was going to take the loud, wild murr sound as an agreement. Besides, if that noise was supposed to be an argument, then it just proved his point about the dramatism. "Come on, then."

Shifting the cat into one arm, Andrew braced the umbrella over them with his other as he began walking through the streets. Memorial Day meant there was a fair amount of traffic running back and forth, but other than that there was absolutely no one out  _walking_  - not that Andrew could blame them.  _They_ were probably smart enough to check the weather forecast before going outside.

Jeez, it was bad enough that even with the umbrella they were still getting wet. He supposed a cheap little thing could only do so much against wind like  _this_. Ugh. The last dying storms of May always seemed the worst. It was like winter was giving them one last 'present'. It- Well, Andrew could understand why others disliked winter as they did, that was for sure. Maybe-

A sharp meow jerked him out of his thoughts, Andrew looking down in bewilderment the exact second a gust of wind tore through town and ripped away his umbrella and left a nice gash on his palm from one of the prongs snagging him. Hissing at the pain, Andrew quickly curled around the now screeching cat, shifting and moving to get his coat open enough for the little thing to curl up against his, somewhat dry, chest.

"Hey, hey, we're alright. Just a bit of rain and wind." There was another loud screeching noise and Andrew was pretty sure he was being yelled at by a cat. How delightful a day, so far. "Alright, a bit more than just a bit, but it's really not that bad. You had better not be blaming your bad luck either, petit chaton." Andrew tapped at the little thing's nose, grinning at the snuffle. "I had bad luck  _long_ before I met you."

Making sure the kitten was reassured enough to curl up to him and settle down, Andrew squinted up through the downpour as he shielded his hurt hand as much as possible. While walking six blocks to the cafe he and Randy ate at was never a difficult thing to do, today it felt like nothing more or less than a biblical journey.

Any dry spots he had left on him were mercilessly soaked to where he felt like he was wading through the ocean. It was only the little black bundle of fur pressed against his chest that kept him from breaking down in the middle of the streets and screaming at God and  _hadn't he been punished enough_ -

"Andrew?!" The shout of his name was barely even heard, but Andrew didn't fight it as he was jerked inside an open door and- Oh.

"Bonjour, Amy. Doing well, I hope?" Their usual server, and long time friend, was looking at Andrew as if he had just crawled out of a sewer. He certainly felt it, so he couldn't blame her. "I know what you're thinking, but it really isn't bad-"

"You look like hell. You look like every religion's version of hell- You look like the hell that the religions who don't have hell would say hey, you look like hell." Waiting for Amy to breath, Andrew quickly jumped in.

"Honestly, it's not that bad. I just got caught in the rain when it really started hitting. See? Just a little wet it all!"

"Just a little- Is that blood on your hand? Randy!" Oh, no. "And hide that cat, you know the manager hates even seeing service animals in here." How the hell- "Cat tail."

"Yes, well, shut up." Tucking the kitten more out of sight, Andrew looked up and almost had heart failure as he met Randy's gaze. He had five seconds to regret his life before he was caught up in a hug tight enough that had him squeaking and had the cat giving a startled shriek of a noise. It did help in getting Randy to let go of him, though, so that was good.

"Okay, first question, what the hell was that?" 'First.' As his bundle of dirty fur poked his head out of the coat and hissed at Randy, Andrew gave a tired  _giggle_. He did need sleep soon, didn't he?

"It's a long story." Startling at the dry towel that fell over his head, Andrew blinked to see Amy carrying a whole armful of fluffy white towels.

"Good. You can explain while we dry your stupid ass off. Honestly, walking around in this without an umbrella- And how did you mess your hand up?"

"Ah, yes, that. Well, it's an explanation as to where my umbrella went." Andrew ignored the glare as he held his hand out to Randy's probing fingers, not even able to drudge up the energy to roll his eyes when his brother had his hurt hand dried off, wiped clean, and wrapped in bandages in a heartbeat. Paranoid, he was.

"Winds that bad, huh," Randy snorted, using the towel to gently dry Andrew's hair before grabbing another one, distracting the cat with a bit of clicking and hand movement, and then snatching him up into the towel. He then quickly gave him back to Andrew.

"Oh, yes, give me the murderous ball of fluff." The cat looked less murderous and more confused, though. Andrew would have liked to comfort him, but Amy was already patting down at his back.

"You're a matching pair. Twins, maybe." Mm. "Come on, I already ordered for us." As the two nudged him along, Andrew allowed himself a small sigh. If nothing else was right in his shit life, at least he had a great big brother and wonderful friends. Well. The plural of that last part could be debated, he supposed, depending on the day and friend he was dealing with. "You had better not get sick, either. Really, Andy, I deal with animals, not humans - and I'm not about to be the next Doolittle."

"Actually, depending on which iteration you're talking about, that was a medical doctor who became a veterinarian." Andrew was pushed down into his seat for his troubles. "Seeing as you deal with animals, however, I might just have a new patient for you."

"Yeah, you know, I kind of noticed," Randy snorted, throwing a few more towels on Andrew before he took his own seat. "I think that's the most sickly, bedraggled little thing I've ever seen." Said 'sickly, bedraggled little thing' promptly hissed at Randy and managed to wiggle a paw out to flex claws at him. "Cute."

"Isn't he?" Andrew grinned, grabbing the paw and giving it a little shake. He was honestly surprised he wasn't scratched for that, but he was more amused by the cat's once more confused expression.

"Sorry, I'm a little distracted because you're holding a  _cat_. A  _black cat_. Andy, frérot, don't you have enough bad luck as it is?"

"Oh, please. You and I both know what a silly superstition that is. Honestly, just because a few people in a colony thought they were the servants of witches we now have-"

"Blue eyes." Snapping his mouth shut, he looked to Randy, Andrew swallowing at the look that was very close to pitying. "Andy, your cat there has blue eyes."

Not having a response to that one, Andrew looked down as their food arrived. Shoving his fork around his dry chicken salad, Andrew picked out a few smaller pieces of chicken before beginning to feed the cat still wrapped up in a towel in his lap. It was a bit sad to see there was no suspicion at the food and instead the cat was gulping it down as fast as possible.

He got through four pieces before Randy finally sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll schedule some time to take a look at him tomorrow. He probably just needs a round of shots and maybe some antibiotics." Ah. The cat was hissing again. "Hey, I'm taking time out of my schedule and money out of my clinic to look at you. You had better appreciate it."

"Isn't that illegal to take money from the clinic?" This time Randy was the one to give a long silence. "If you go to jail again-"

"Hey, last time wasn't my fault!"

"Just like the first, second, and third time weren't your fault?"

"They weren't. I just had some bad influences in my life is all."

"Bad influences! You broke into at pet store and freed all the pets!"

"I found them all homes, didn't I?"

"Randy-"

"So, what are you going to name him?" Oh, look, something that managed to shock him into silence. He was surprised Randy had managed to ask him something so  _stupid_. "Well, you're keeping him, aren't you?"

"Wha- Since when did I say I was keeping him! I have no plans on keeping him and so giving him a name would be superfluous at best and-" Pausing as he felt something hit his fingers, he glanced down to see that the cat had pushed his plate closer to him and was now giving him a  _judging_ look. He then went back to nudging the plate and didn't stop until Andrew cautiously took a bite of food.

Across from him, Randy started laughing. Brat. "I like this cat already if he can get  _you_ to eat your food!" Please. Andrew was never  _that_  bad. Usually.

"It's ridiculous." Andrew took another bite even as he fed the little thing another scrap of chicken. He seemed to make sure Andrew was really eating before taking the bite of food himself. It had Andrew remembering something he didn't want to remember. "D… Danny." The cat in his arms went still for some odd reason, but Randy going silent across from him was what had Andrew looking at the table and rambling.

"It's a good name for a cat, don't you think? Danny? It's certainly not a bad name. Nothing like Snuffles or Snowball or Coal or anything stupid like that. It could be a good name. Okay, so-"

"Danny sounds like a great name, Andy." Glancing up to see his brother's smile, Andrew gave a weak little one back as he fed… As he fed  _Danny_ another scrap of chicken. Poor thing was still looking exhausted if he was near limp in his arms now.

"I suppose I'm still not ready to let it all go, am I?" Five years. It had been  _five years_ and yet  _still_ \- Well. Maybe it would be nice to think of someone else when he heard that name. He wasn't sure how effective  _that_ would be, though. Black hair and bright blue eyes.

Sighing softly to himself, Andrew bowed his head. He really had been doomed from the start in all of this.

::

"Randy? Can you come here?" Feeling more than seeing his brother rush over, Andrew carefully continued to peel Danny out of the towel around him - the towel that was no longer white. "Is he bleeding?"

"Fuck, you sure know how to pick them if he is." Randy was inspecting Danny at once, the poor thing too tired to do much more than make a pathetic growling noise. "He definitely was. Most of it is scabbing over, but those are some nasty wounds… You have tomorrow off?"

"Wha- Oh, yes." Taking a moment to make sure it was indeed Tuesday tomorrow, Andrew gave a nod. "Yes, I have it off."

"Bring him by around eleven or so, okay?" That bad, then. "For tonight just keep him from moving too much, don't let him jump or run around, and make sure he gets plenty of water. No water or food after midnight, though, okay? I don't know how much he'll need done tomorrow."

"Got it." Andrew tucked the towel back around Danny, shifting him in his arms so he was more comfortable. "Can you pay for the towel, too?"

"You're something else." What was that supposed to mean! "Yes, Andy, I'll pay for the towel, too. Now go home, will you? You're making me near cry just looking at you."

"Mother and I could say the same about you," Andrew sniffed, turning on his heel and choosing to take Danny's strange noise as a laugh. "Danny agrees with me, too!"

"Doesn't he always?" Heh. Guess he wasn't the only one who couldn't leave it  _all_ behind. "Go cuddle up with a book, nerd."

"Try not to wind up in jail again!" Poking his head out of the cafe, Andrew sighed in relief as he saw the rain had finally stopped. "See? Our bad luck isn't so bad." Looking around, Andrew jumped as he felt the pricking of teeth against his hand that hand the bandage on it. Danny wasn't biting, but he was certainly getting his attention. "What? Are you bleeding again? Am I?"

After a few moments of nothing else happening, and not seeing any blood, Andrew looked back up to start off towards home before he felt the 'bite' again. "I can't read minds, you-" Ah. "You're reminding me to get my medicine." The teeth left him and Danny gave a soft purr. "Well, you at least can earn your keep, I suppose."

It was probably coincidence, but… It was nice to think that someone else was helping him remember the important things. "Right. First my medicine, and then we can go home." Maybe his luck really  _wasn't_  so bad.


End file.
